June 2017

The current president’s Secretary of Homeland Security, John Kelly, recently rescinded President Obama’s plan to extend protections to certain parents of US citizens and lawful permanent residents. See https://www.maldef.org/assets/pdf/DHS_DAPA_061517.pdf. This change in policy is not a surprise. Instead it is another assault on immigrants who live long, lawful and productive lives in the United States of America and who are fundamental parts of our communities.

If you would like to discuss your current immigration status with an immigration attorney, please contact Attorney Ellen Sullivan at ellen@ellensullivanlaw.com or 617-714-4375.

For years, I have asked my clients about their social media. What names are listed on the social media? What countries, states, towns of residence are listed on social media? What employers are listed? Which friends and photos are connected to them via social media? All of that information can be, and has for years, been used by various US government agencies to determine a person’s eligibility for immigration benefits in the US or to the US.

The current administration is ramping up the government’s effort to use social media to “vet” immigrant and nonimmigrant applicants to the US. Sometimes this makes sense because social media can provide true information about a person. On the hand, often times, social media statements are hyperbole, exaggeration, or just plain misstatements. In those cases, it is unfair for the US government to use free-speech statements (intentional or not) and associations with others as bases for denying a truly eligible individual’s application for immigration benefits.